Baby's first present

So, a couple of weeks ago, we were in DC and had the opportunity to go to Target, primarily for the purpose of buying staggering amounts of Cadbury Mini Eggs, which for some reason I had been completely unable to find in appropriate quantities in New York. My search of several drug and grocery stores revealed only the occassional Cadbury plastic egg, which in some circumstances contained a single-serving package of CMEs. Obviously, this would not be enough. Thus, Target in the suburbs, complete with a full two aisles of seasonal candy, was an important destination.


The day or two before had been a bit difficult. We got some not horrible but not great news about our early Down's screening, and I had been a little upset. As a way to make the whole thing a little more fun, I decided we should buy the first thing for the baby. Surely, Target would have newborn sleepers in gender neutral colors or some other such trinket, I thought. Wrong! I pity all the people who think they can actually prepare for a newborn without knowing its gender, as it would seem there is some sort of conspiracy on this point. It is, I think, impossible, to buy clothes for a baby under 3 months of age that are not either completely pink or completely blue.

Once clothes were out, all the other possible small-ticket purchases seemed kind of boring and not babyish enough. I mean, a boppy is great, but looking at it doesn't immediately make me think "baby." We wandered around the various aisles for quite some time, laughing at some of the tacky items available, one of which was a set of blinged out pacifiers, full of glitter and rhinestones. Of course, John decided that he must buy these. Now, I realize that taste can differ, but I ask you, is this something you would really consider letting your child walk out in public with (apart from the whole rhinestones as choking hazard issue, which a friend raised recently).





In case you can't tell, the word he's highlighting is "bling." John later pointed out to me that the picture of the baby on the package is just of a baby, not of the baby using the packaged pacifiers. I told him the mother had probably shown up to the photo shoot and then completely refused to let her child suck on something so hideous. They do not help at all with my desire to buy something for the baby, since they can only be used in children 6 months and up, and I can guarantee they will be "lost," "misplaced," or "stolen" long before that time. I'm still itching to start shopping, but I shudder to think at what John might purchase next. I can probably hold out the two or three weeks more weeks until we know the gender and can start buying real baby things.


Oh, and in case you have a freakish desire to see yet another picture of me without makeup, without having brushed my hair, and in my pajamas, here is a 16-week picture. I took my retainer out and smiled this time, though, so I think it still beats the 12-week version.